PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Sebastian Aho had a hat-trick, including the game-winning goal 28 seconds into overtime after Martin Necas tied it with 0.3 seconds left in regulation, and the Carolina Hurricanes rallied to beat the Philadelphia Flyers by 5 on Saturday -4 to beat.
Brady Skjei also scored for the Hurricanes and Frederick Andersen had 29 saves. Carolina held onto the lead in the Metropolitan Division after being one point ahead of second-placed New Jersey.
Tyson Foerster, Noah Cates and Brendan Lemieux each had a goal and an assist for the Flyers, with Joel Farabee also scoring. Owen Tippett and Morgan Frost each had two assists for Philadelphia, which is down 11 of 15. The Flyers began play with the sixth fewest points in the NHL. Felix Sandstrom finished with 29 saves.
It looked like Philadelphia was heading for its fifth win streak of the season before the Necas power play tally. The Hurricanes went to the man advantage with 7 seconds left when Scott Laughton was called for holding.
After Carolina won the tie, Shayne Gostisbehere fired a slap shot that was stopped by goalkeeper Felix Sandstrom with a great save from the left path. But the puck rolled to the other side of the net, where a wide-open Necas fired it. The Hurricanes celebrated lavishly and once more as officials confirmed that the goal beat the end-of-game buzzer.
Aho didn’t waste much time ending the game, passing defenseman Tony DeAngelo before beating Sandstrom with his 30th goal of the season. Aho was held without a point in seven consecutive matches before recording his third career three-goal effort.
After Farabee tied the score at 3-all 3:33 into the final period, Lemieux put the Flyers on top at 5:50. Frost made the play by blocking Andersen’s run from behind the net, reeling in the puck and sending it to Lemieux, who scored into a wide-open net as Andersen tried to recover.
Aho recorded his second of the night with 6:05 left in the second on a wrist shot from the slot past Sandstrom’s glove. He opened the scoring with 5:08 left in the first on a close range wrist shot that beat the glove-side goalkeeper.
NOTES: Carolina played the third game without leading scorer Andrei Svechnikov, who is out this season with a knee injury. …Philadelphia played the third game of a seven-game homestand. … Carolina swept the four-game season series against the Flyers, winning each game by one goal. … The Hurricanes are 21-7-6 on the road, while the Flyers are down to 13-17-4 at home. …Philadelphia is 2-11 in the second game of a back-to-back this season.
NEXT ONE
Hurricanes: at the New York Rangers on Tuesday night.
Flyers: Host Florida on Tuesday nights.
